Journal box lid



12,' 1939. J. J. RULIANCICH JOURNAL `B0X LIDvv Filed July 22, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l A T TORNEYS.

De@ 12, 1939. J. J. ULI/,WGH 2,183,407

JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 22, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR.

BY zu? WW1/zw ATTORNEYS.

De@ 12, 1939- .1.V J. RuLlANclH 2,183,407

JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 22, 1937 A1 Sl'1ee1ZS'-Sheet, 3

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Dec. l2, 1939. .1. J. RuLlANclcl-l JOURNAL BOX LID Filed July 22, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheetl 4 IN VEN TOR. WMM

A TTORNEYS.

55 it the lid of theinvention is adaptable.

Patented Dec. 12, 1939 nNireo stares Ai-NT orties.

JOURNAL Box LID John J. Ruliancich,` New Kensington, Pa., as-

signor to Union Spring and Manufacturing Company, New Kensington, Pa., -a ycorporation of Pennsylvania Application July 22, 1937, Serial No. 154,944

claims.

This invention relates` to the journal boxes of railway rolling stock, and consists in improvements in the structure of the lid of the journal box. The object in View is a lid appli.- cable to and removable from the' box with facility and performing its box-closing function efficiently and without chattering.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. I isa View in front elevation of a lid of the invention, a

' 10 portion being broken away; Fig. II is a view in box. Figs. VIII and IX show, partly in side elevation, partly in medial and longitudinal section, the lid in assembly with the journal box- Fig. VIII showing the vlid in open, and Fig. IX showing it iny closed position. Figs. X and XI illustrate a modiiication indetails of structure, in which also inventive features are found, Fig. X being a view of the lid in medial and longitudinal section and in assembled position, relatively to a journal box fragmentarily shown in side elevation, and Fig. XI being a View in rear elevation of the lid in detached position, ready to be applied. In the showing of Fig. XI, certain parts are broken away.

The lid of the invention includes, as is usual, a cover plate I, a spring-retaining hood 2 mounted externally upon the cover plate, and a spring 3 assembled in the pocket formed by and between plate and hood. The assembly of plate, hood, and spring is adapted to be applied as a unit to, and `to be pivotally mounted at its upper edge upon, the usual perforated lug Il, cast integrally upon the journal box 5. The lug 4 is here shown to be of conventional and standard form, with cam surfaces 6 and "i, of which surf-ace 6 is` a plane surface ythat is slightly inclined from the horizontal upwardly and outwardly, and surface I is a plane surface that is slightly inclined from. the

vertical downwardly and inwardly.' These two cam surfaces define an upward and outward extension of the lug 4, andthe angle of the meeting of these surfaces is rounded. This, as has been said, is a feature Yof standard equipment, and to I shall (ol.l 30s-47) in the ensuing description characterize this lug as a cam block.A

The vspring is, in kind, a torsion spring. It includes the coil, to which in Figs. I and VI the reference `numeral 3 is immediately applied, and EI the radially extending arms 8 and 9. The distal end of arm 8 is adapted in the assembly to be anchored at the axis of pivotal turning of the lid, and to such. end is formed witha circular terminal loop I0; the arm 9 is adapted through the instrumentality of a roller I I to bear upon the cam surfaces that are rigidly disposed with relation to the axis of turning. The spring is preferably formed as a double member, with two coils 3, duplicate outer arms Sand duplicate inner 15.:

arms 9 that form the two branches of a continuous, U-shaped extension. The coils 3, as shown l in Fig. I, arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the .mid-plane of the structure, are inclined slightly, and oppositely inclined, to the hori- 2o' zontal.

The plate I is provided with loops I2 at its upper edge, thatco-nstitute a knuckle for pivotal mounting, and the hood 2 is provided with perforations I3 in its side walls, and through these in 2'5" the assembly a pivot-pin I4 passes, to eiect the pivotal mounting of the lid upon the perforated cam block 5. The loops I2 and the perforations I3 are elongate, in a direction substantially perpendicular'to the plane I5 of the opening of the 30 journal box, to the end that the lid when mounted may accommodate itself to unevennesses and make substantially tight closure around the marginsof the opening in the journal box. From the loops I2 upon plate I tongues It extend, and :itiy

of the spring are by'these portions of the plate 45 and the hood engaged on opposite sides, and held captive between plate and hood.` The seat I5 is central in its location upon the plate, to the end that the spring shall exert its tension centrally with respect to the rectangular margin `of the 50 opening in the junction box.

The hood 2 is narrower than the plate I (ci.l Fig. I) it is applied externally upon plate I; it is united with plate I along its vertically extending opposite edges i9, say by means of welded Y I is shaped with a seat I8 upon its 4o seams W; and at the upper end the edges of hood and plate stand widely apart, and at the lower end the edge of hood 2 stands away from the surface of the prolonged seat I E. 'Ihat is to say, the pocket formed by and between plate and hood is open above, to permit of assembly and operation, and is open below at 2U to afford escape of dust and to facilitate cleaning. The hood at its upper end is prolonged, to overarch the contained parts, and at its edge is provided with an inturned lip 2 I.

It will presently appear that the spring of my improved lid may be made a very powerful springmuch more powerful than springs ordinarily employed in these structures. And this is a feature of practical value and advantage. Employing such a spring, I nd it further advantageous to provide for a large range of spring play, in the movement of the lid between open and closed positions. In accordance with the invention I provide a supplementary cam block, to constitute in the assembly an enlargement of the standard cam block 4, and this supplemental cam block I assemble with the lid, that the whole may be applied as a unit to the journal box with its standard cam block 4. This supplemental cam block is illustrated in detail in Figs. III, IV, and V; it appears in the lid assembly in Fig. VIII, and in the applied position in Figs. II, VIII, and IX. It bears the reference numeral 22. This block is provided with perforations 23, and, hollowed beneath, is provided with lugs 24, 25, so that in the assembly it may be secured by the pivot-pin I4 rigidly upon the cam block or pivot-bearing 4. The supplementary cam block 22 is provided with surfaces 26 and 21 that correspond in other respects, when assembly has been made, to the surfaces 6 and 'I of the cam block 4, but, being farther remote from the axis of pivotal turning (as is manifest on considering Figs. VIII and IX), it is at the same time manifest that they serve to effect a wider range of spring play in the opening and closing swing of the assembled lid. The supplementary cam block is provided with cylindrical extensions 28 (in which the perforations for pivotal mounting are co-axially formed) that afford bearing surfaces for the loops I0 upon the spring arms 8. At the rear edge of the cam surface 26 the supplementary cam block is provided with a recess 29, of shape and size to receive the roller II upon spring arm 9.

The lid parts so characterized, and shown in Fig. VI in relative positions indicative of assembly, are assembled in the following manner. First, the spring is compressed and the arms 8 and 9 are swung into the crossed relation in which they appear in Fig. VII. Then, the arms 8 of the spring are slightly spread and brought to position upon the cylindrical extensions 28 of the supplementary cam block 22, with the roller at the distal end of the double spring arm urged and held by spring tension against the medial body portion of the cam block. The spring and cam block assembly is then applied to plate I, with the coils of the spring resting in the seat I6, and the lip 2l of the hood positioned over the roller I I upon the double spring arm 9. The parts are brought to the positions shown in Fig. VII, and the hood is secured in place, conveniently by means of welded seams W along its edges I9 to the face of plate I. The spring is preferably made of such strength that its assembly with the cam block exceeds the power of man muscularly to effect, but requires rather the power of a press. It is immediately manifest,

then, that a lid assembly is effected, in which there is stored by appropriate shop procedure a spring power that may vastly exceed any power that may by any permissible procedure be stored at the time of assembly in the eld. In consequence, a relatively great spring tension may be made effective to hold the lid in closed position on the journal box. Furthermore the compression of the turns of the coil, turn upon turn, and the extended engagement of the surfaces of the plate and the hood externally upon the coils present a tremendous frictional resistance to the chattering of the lid when in closed position upon the journal box.

The lid assembly is shown in Fig. VII, ready to be applied to a journal box. It will be realized from what has been said that the relatively powerful spring is under tension and that the arms 8 and 9 tend to turn, relatively to the centre of the coil 3, the arm 8 counter-clockwise, the arm 9 clockwise; such turning of the arms is prevented by the engagement of the arms upon the auxiliary cam block 22 interposed between them. The recess 29 in the auxiliary cam block with which the roller II makes engagement and the lip 2l on the hood are effective to prevent accidental displacement of the parts. The surface of recess 29 is thus seen to be a supplementary swing-re sisting surface. The spring so held by the auxiliary cam block and positioned between plate I and hood 2 bears yieldingly through roller II upon the inner surface of the hood at lip 2|. The lid assembly, so precisely organized in the relative positions of its parts, is precisely in position for application to a journal box in open position with respect thereto. This position of initial application is illustrated in Fig. VIII. When application has been made the pivot-pin I4 is thrust to place, within the perforation of cam block 4, within the perforations 23 of the auxiliary cam block 22, and through the loops I2 of plate I, and the orifices I3 in hood 2. The lugs I8 of plate I are then bent to the position indicated in Fig. I; the pivot-pin is secured in place, and the journal box assembly is complete. AI

And it is manifest that the auxiliary cam block,

forming a permanent element of the lid assembly, comprises means for securing the spring under tension, bothwhen the lid structure itself is being assembled, and when the assembled lid structure is being installed on a journal box. And it will be noted that in the ultimate assem bly the auxiliary cam block straddles or embraces the cam block on the journal box.

In the modication shown in Figs. X and XI, the coils are arranged mid-Way in the longitudinal extent of the interior arms of the essentially W-shaped spring 30 (as seen in elevation, Fig. XI), and the loops 3I at the base of the W bear centrally upon the plate 32. Otherwise, the organization is the same; and, as in the form rst described, the parts may be so proportioned that the spring is put under great tension in the as* sembly (that may be made in the Shop) of the lid parts; and the lid assembly may be applied as a unit to the box.

rpreventative of rotation of the block on the axis The journal box opening in this case extends in inclined plane, and plate 32 is counterweighted by extensions 33. When the lid is'closed (dottedline position, Fig. X) these extensions effect a distribution of weight on opposite sides of avertical plane through the pivotal axis such as to be additionally corrective in the matter of chattering.

As shown in the modied structure,`the rollerreceiving recess 29 in the supplemental cam block may be omitted. The force of the roller engag ing upon theupper surface of the cam block (as shown in Fig. X) is eective to hold the lid in open position. And, in further modication, the rear wall oi the supplemental cam block may be extended downward, as at 36, to make contact with the top of the journal box. Thus, in lieu of the lugs 25, above mentioned, the engagement of the cam block with the top of the journal box cooperates with the lug 24 in preventing the rotary rdisplacement of the earn block in the assembled structure.

I claim as my invention:

' 1. A lid adapted to be pivotally mounted upon a journal box that has a hinge-lug, such lid including a plate, a hood, a spring having two arms tending to move relatively to one another under the tension of the spring,and a cam block, assembled as a unit and adapted to be applied as a unit, the cam block in such assembly, engaged by said arms of the spring, holding the spring under tension in position that characterizes open position with respect to the journal box, the plate of the assembled lid when the lid has been applied being movable pivotally from open position against augmented tension of the said spring, said cam block including passages adapted in the assembly to receive a hinge-pintle, said spring bearing on said block', when the lid is pivotally mounted on said hinge-lug, and being adapted to secure the lid in closed position on the journal box.

2. The structure of the next preceding claim, in which said cam block includes portions adapted to engage said hinge-lug and box in an engagement of said hinge-lug.

3. A cam block adapted for assembly, with a spring-including lid structure, upon the hinge-lug of a journal box; said cam block including `a body having spaced-apart cylindrical extensions adapted in assembly to lie on opposite sides of said hinge-lug, said extensions including holes adapted to receive a hinge-pintle extended through said hinge-lug, a portion of said block being adapted to bear on the surface of said hinge-lug, and a cam surfacey formed on said block, said cam surface and said cylindrical extensions being adapted to coopera-te with the spring in said lid structure.

fi. A supplementary cam member adapted for assembly with the rigid, perorate, cam block of a journal box equipped with a spring-closed lid, said cam member including two side portions adapted in the assembly to lie severally on opposite sides of said cam block, such side portions severally including passages adapted tov receive the hingepintle of the box, said cam member including a body portion between said side portions providing an enlargement of the cam surface of the block on which the camrnernber is assembled, to augment the effect of the spring in said lid.

5. In a lid structure prepared for assembly as a unit upon a journal box, `said structure comprising a lid member, a tensioned spring assembled with such lid member, said spring including two arms tending under spring tension to move angularly to one another, and a device cooperating with such arms in securing the spring in tensioned condition; the refinements herein described in which said device consists in a body including a passage for the hinge-pintle of the journal box on box.

JOHN J. RULIANCICH. 

